Garment hanger



C. H. KING GARMENT HANGER May 28, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 31, 1966 & M m M M m T K m N O E H N W A I M In C 6 W 7 2 \.)F./\

May 28, 1968 I c. H. KING I GARMENT HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Filed May 31, 1966 INVENTOR. C/mr/QS l /U6 6M1, W 1

' Attorneys WHY United States Patent Oflice 3,385,487 GARMENT HANGER Charles H. King, Oakland, Calif., assignor of one-half to Marguerite V. West Filed May 31, 1966, Ser. No. 553,760 1 Claim. ((1223-95) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to ganment hangers and attachments therefor, and, more particularly, relates to garment supporting devices which are adaptable for mounting on conventional wire hangers and suitable for supporting trousers, skirts or similar articles of apparel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment supporting device which will accommodate a wide range of garments and which is easily adjustable to engage and support garments of various sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment supporting device which will firmly engage and support the garment and yet facilitates an easy release and removal of the garment from the hanger.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a garment supporting device which is easy to manufacture, may be conveniently removed and attached to standard wire hangers, has a minimum number of parts and is of a sturdy construction.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which of the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claim.

Referring to said drawing (two sheets) FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a pair of garment supporting devices constructed in accordance with the present invention and mounted on a conventional wire hanger.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view partially in cross-section of the upper end of the garment supporting de'vice.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the garment supporting device as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side perspective view of the garment supporting device illustrating it in various positions on the hanger wire.

FIGURE 5 is a side perspective view of a modified form of a garment supporting device constructed in accordance with the present invention and adapted to support a skirt.

FIGURE 6 is a side perspective view of another form of a garment supporting device constructed in accordance with the present invention and formed to support a pair of trousers.

The means of the present invention for supporting a garment on a garment hanger of the type including a substantially straight lower garment supporting wire comprises, briefiy, an arm 11 having an end loop 12 for-med and dimensioned to surround a hanger wire 13 for sliding support thereon and to depend therefrom for supporting a lateral force applied by a garment carried by arm 11,

3,385,487 Patented May .28, 168

the end loop 12 rocking on the wire 13 in the plane of the force for locking on the wire in response to the force, and biasing spring means 14 connected to the arm 11 immediately adjacent the end loop 12 and formed for sliding connection on the wire and to apply a biasing moment to the arm in the direction of the force for locking the arm 11 on the wire 13 (clockwise as viewed in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4), the spring means 14 yielding upon a manually applied moment on the arm 11 in a reverse direction to free the end loop 12 for sliding engagement on the wire 13.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a garment supporting means which may be easily adapted to conventional wire hangers now in widespread use and a garment supporting means which when mounted upon such hangers will greatly increase the versatility and use thereof. The hangers suitable for the garment supporting means of the present invention may be typified by the hanger 16 shown in FIGURE 1, although wooden hangers having a substantially straight garment supporting lower wire 13 are also suitable for the attachment of the supporting device of the present invention.

In order to facilitate the easy mounting of the device of the present invention on the conventional wire hanger and to ensure positive locking and yet easy release and adjustment of the device, it is a feature of the present invention to construct the end loop 12 as an open helically formed loop having two substantially spaced coils or turns 21 and 22, as best may be seen in FIGURE 2. As thus constructed, upper coil 21 and lower coil 22 grip wire 13 under the clockwise moment induced by spring 14. Moreover, when a garment 23 is engaged and supported by arm 11, the clockwise moment about helical end 12 is increased and coils 21 and 22 grip wire 13 with even greater force to lock arm 11 in a fixed position on the wire. The lateral spacing of coils 21 and 22 also facilitates a quick release of the gripping or locking moment by rocking or angular displacement of arm 11 in a counterclockwise direction against the biasing spring 14 (and garment weight, if a garment is being supported by arm 11). As can be seen in FIGURE 2, release in the locking or gripping force of coils 21 and 22 on wire 13 occurs because the distance between coils 21 and 22 along the diagonal is substantially greater than the diameter of the wire. Arm 11 may be angularly displaced to release end 12 and allow reciprocation thereof to either end 23 or 2? of hanger 16. The hook end 37 of spring wire 14 can be unhooked from wire 13 and the arm twisted off wire 13 in a manner, similar to the conventional intertwined wire loop puzzle, which takes advantage of the short curvature of radius of ends 28 and 29 and the lateral spacing of coils 21 and 22.

In order to facilitate the easy release of the garment supporting device for lateral displacement along wire 13, it is a feature of the present invention to connect spring means 14 to arm 11 at a portion 26 thereof immediately adjacent end 12. As so positioned, spring means 14 has a suflicient lever arm to lock coils 22 against wire 13. Arm 11 is also formed with a free end 27 which facilitates easy manual engagement of arm 11 to give the user a substantial lever arm about the end 12, making it relatively easy to overcome the force of spring 14 and release the arm for lateral reciprocation. For example, as is shown in FIGURE 4, the arm 11 may be moved from left to right merely by manually engaging the inner side thereof and urging the arm in that direction. To move the arm from right to left, as shown in FIGURE 4, the thumb can be used in addition to the finger to grip free end 27 to angularly displace coils 21 and 22 against spring 14.

- It is a further feature of the present invention in order to allow the easy adjustment and removal of the garment supporting means to construct spring means 14 as a relatively light gauged spring wire having an end 36 secured to arm 11 and in opposite end 37 formed with a hook for slidably embracing the hanger wire. Employing a relatively light weight spring further facilitates the easy release of the locking action of end 12 and yet provides the resilient biasing force suitable for locking end 12 against lateral reciprocation prior to placing a garment on arm 11, which further locks arm 11 in place.

It is also possible, as shown in FIGURE 1, to utilize the resiliency inherent in wire hangers to facilitate engagement and disengagement of garments 23 by arms 11. The arms may be adjusted to the approximate or known lateral spacing suitable for engaging and supporting a gar ment 23. The person using the hanger may then press the hanger upwardly, as is shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 1, which thereby angularly displaces or rotates arms 11 toward each other reducing the lateral spacing therebetween for insertion into the desired garment. When the manual flexing of the hanger 16 is released, arms 11, formed with notches 24 to assist in gripping the garment, will diverge engaging garment 23 and further locking arms 11 upon wire 13. To release garment 23, hanger wire 13 again can be flexed upwardly to angularly displace arms 11 thus allowing the garment to be free from the hanger.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a modified form of the present invention in which helical open looped end 12a of arm 11a is extended substantially parallel to wire 13a and terminates in an offset end 41 formed for bearing upon and sliding engagement with the wire for spring biasing the arm. Extending end 12a to provide a parallel portion 42 and end 41 provides an integral spring biased arm 11a wherein the spring force to lock the helical end in engagement with wire 1311 can also be easily overcome by a manual engagement of end 27a due to the location of the spring biasing means immediately adjacent end 12a. Construction of a garment supporting means in this fashion has the added advantage of requiring only a single piece of wire which is formed to engage garment 23a (here being a skirt), lock on wire 13a and provide a spring biasing means 14a for the device.

For ease of manufacture and particularly when the garment supporting means is formed as a single wire as is shown in FIGURE 5, it is preferable to form the device entirely from light gauge spring wire. Thus, intermediate loop 12a having spaced coils 21a and 22a for threading upon wire 13a, arm 11a depending from one end of loop 12a, and spring means extension 14:: extending from the other end of loop 12a may all be formed from a continuous spring wire.

Another modified form of the garment supporting device of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 6 and has been found to be particularly well suited for supporting pants or trousers. In order to achieve the easy and convenient locking and releasing, particularly of pants or trousers, the garment supporting means may be alternatively formed wherein arm 11b is formed with a medially looped portion 46 surrounding hanger wire 13b and providing a helically formed end. The spring wire 14b is secured at one end 47 to looped portion 46 and has an end 37b formed with a hook for sliding engagement with wire 13b. Arm 11b is formed as a yoke-shaped pair of laterally spaced and downwardly extending fingers 48 and 49 formed for engagement with one side 51 of the internal openings 52 and 53 of a pair of pant legs 23. As thus constructed, spring wire 14b and looped portion 46 provide a convenient and reliable lateral adjustment of the trouser engaging fingers 43 and 49 and locking thereof in selected positions on wire 13b.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger having a substantially straight lower normally horizontally disposed garment supporting wire, a pair of wire members each formed with a spirally wound helix and an arm extending from one end of said helix substantially perpendicular to the axis of said helix, each of said helices being of open form and dimensioned for threading and being threaded onto said wire and loosely surrounding said wire for sliding support thereon with said arms depending from said helices for supporting a garment, each said helices having axially spaced convolutions engageable with opposite sides of said wire for locking on said wire in response to forces acting on said arms in a direction tending to move said members toward each other, and biasing spring means formed as an extension of the other end of each of said helices and extending substantially parallel to said wire and terminating in a longitudinally spaced offset having a sliding bearing engagement on said wire and formed and functioning for spring biasing said arms in said direction thereby locking said convolutions on said wire, said arms being manually engageable for applying a rocking moment to said helices against the resilience of said spring means to release the pressure of said convolutions on said wire for free sliding action of said members thereon in the direction separating said members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 833,693 10/1906 Nevius 223- 846,023 3/1907 Gage 223-95 2,129,455 9/1938 Wisehart et al. 223-91 2,435,111 1/ 1948 Wahl 223-95 2,907,505 10/1959 Kinsey 223-95 3,117,705 1/1964 Fischer 223-95 FOREIGN PATENTS 996,275 8/ 1951 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

